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April 9, 2025 at 11:30:00 PM

AFS Cinema

Manthan (The Churning)

India | Narrative Feature

1976 | 134 mins | Hindi

Virtual Q&A

Cannes Classics 2024

"Manthan”, a fictionalized version of the beginnings of the remarkable dairy cooperative movement that transformed India from a milk-deficient nation to the world’s largest milk producer inspired by Verghese Kurien, the Father of the White Revolution, is also India’s first crowdfunded film produced by 500,000 dairy farmers who contributed Rs. 2/- each towards the production of the film.

Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation

Film Heritage Foundation used the best surviving elements for the restoration – the original camera negative and the 35 mm print preserved at the NFDC – NFAI. Unfortunately, the sound negative was not available. We digitized the sound from the 35 mm print preserved at Film Heritage Foundation. The film elements were repaired by the Film Heritage Foundation conservators and the scanning was done in Prasad Lab in Chennai We found that due to the deterioration of the print, there were vertical green lines on many parts of the film. While the scanning and digital clean-up was done at Prasad under the supervision of L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, the grading, sound restoration and mastering was done at the lab in Bologna. Both Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani, the cinematographer of the film, have been involved in the restoration of the film.

Restoration Process

Manthan (1976) - Before and After Image.png

Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation

About the Artist

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Photo courtesy: 

Film Heritage Foundation

Shyam Benegal, a pioneer of Indian parallel cinema, is renowned for his socially conscious films tackling caste, gender, and socio-political issues. Born on December 14, 1934, he debuted with Ankur (1974), followed by acclaimed films like Nishant, Manthan, and Bhumika. Manthan was uniquely crowd-funded by 500,000 farmers, highlighting India's White Revolution.

Benegal has collaborated with legendary actors like Smita Patil and Naseeruddin Shah and directed the iconic TV series Bharat Ek Khoj (1988). Honored with the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and multiple National Film Awards, his work continues to inspire and challenge societal norms.

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Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation

Trailer

Credits

Crew:

Director:   

Shyam Benegal

Writer:

V. Kurien

Shyam Benegal

Vijay Tendulkar

Producers:

Shyam Benegal/Sahyadri Films for Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.

Film Editor:

Bhanudas Diwkar

Featured Cast:

     ​       

Girish Karnad

Smita Patil

Naseeruddin Shah

Anant Nag

Amrish Puri

Kulbushan Kharbanda

Mohan Agashe

Sadhu Meher

Rajendra Jaspal

Abha Dhulia

Anjali Paigankar 

and the people of Sanganva

Restoration Effort Led By: Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Director, Film Heritage Foundation

 

Restoration Credit:

Restored by Film Heritage Foundation in association with Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.(Amul), the cinematographer Govind Nihalani and the director Shyam Benegal. Funding supported by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.(Amul)

Thank you to our community partners for this screening!

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